Muscular Biometry of the Upper Limb Using Mri: Comparison With Data Collected From Dissections

Abstract

Anatomy knowledge used to be obtained through dis- sections performed on cadavers. With modern techniques however, as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), such information can also be obtained from living persons. When segmentation of muscles is carried on those images, length, weight, surface and volume of various muscles can be estimated. It is possible to illustrate the relative posi- tion of muscles within the limb and to reproduce in vivo muscle shapes. As a validation of this approach, images of the upper limb of six normal subjects were processed and results compared to data obtained from cadavers. Some of the measurements obtained from MRI meet those obtained by dissection. Further improvements in MRI are necessary before segmentation can routinely be used as a substitute to muscular dissections.